


but i’m here right now.

by crankgameplays



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Fic, SO, and listen, aooo, caude i never see natsu getting comfort after a bad fight, i just need his friends loving on him okay, o just needed a stupid gay cute, plus some gratsu, puppy dog pile, so have some fluff, with the main five
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-29 23:18:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15739344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crankgameplays/pseuds/crankgameplays
Summary: Fairy Tail’s strongest team deserves some comfort cuddles.





	but i’m here right now.

**Author's Note:**

> I JUST NEEDED FULLY PUPPY DOG PILES WITH CUDDLES AND LOVE AND SHIT OKAH BC NATSU FUCKING KILLS IIMSELF DURINF EVERY FIGHT AND HE NEEDS LOCE also i’m tired of ppl writing natsu as an idiot or completely stupid or oblivious like sure he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed but he’s damn smart for someone who was oh idk RAISED BY A DRAGON leave my genius boy alone

Natsu was just tired. He was just so tired, a gaping hole in his chest where his exhausted magic lay, the barest bits of it that was left. He was going to need a lot of sleep, and a lot of fire, to replenish. He could already feel himself slipping, his eyes heavy and his feet stumbling across the tiles of the roof he stood on. And, yup, there he went, falling off a building again. To defeat an evil and die because of a fall; what would be the irony in that? He was already bracing himself to hit the ground but then there was coldness, surrounding him, tight hands gripping on to his body and the scent of winter and pine and relief flooding his nose. He opened his eyes slowly, a pained smile on his face.

“Did I get ‘em?” He asked. Gray chuckled, slowly sinking to the ground so he was sitting with Natsu in his lap. 

“You got em, fire-brain,” He replied softly, bringing his hands up to wipe away some of the blood covering Natsu’s face. Now that he was thinking about it he could feel the blood on his body, his and his enemies, making his skin sticky and tight. When he tried to move to wipe it away he dropped his hand and arched his back, crying out in pain. Gray shushed him, his hands suddenly getting colder as they brushed over aches and pains. It didn’t erase them at all, but it helped, and he relaxed into Gray’s hold. 

“Natsu!” That was Lucy, and when he turned his head away from Gray’s chest he could see her, tears in her eyes as she dropped down next to him. 

“You stupid dragon,” She insulted, but her voice was rough with tears and Natsu could smell fear and relief coming from her in waves. “When are you going to stop risking your life?!” She yelled at him, angrily wiping at the tears on her face.

“When are you gonna get strong enough to do it in my place?” He teased weakly. Lucy laughed, thick with tears and pain, and ran her hand through Natsu’s blood matted hair. 

“Come on,” Gray stood slowly, careful not to jostle Natsu and further his injuries. “Let’s find Erza and get the hell home,” He didn’t relinquish his grip on Natsu and Lucy fell into line right next to him, her hand still firmly gripping on to Natsu’s hair, like if she let him go then he would disappear into thin air. They didn’t have to walk long before Erza was there, practically crashing into all three of them and knocking them to the ground. Natsu practically screamed in pain, and Gray grunted underneath of their weight. 

“Get the hell off of him, Erza! You’re hurting him!” Lucy screamed, struggling to push Erza off the groaning and whimpering Natsu. Gray couldn’t help but agree, and finally, Erza tumbled off them to lay on the side of Gray. 

“I cant believe how idiotic and reckless you could be!” She turned to look at Natsu, but her glare disappeared when Natsu couldn’t even respond, too busy whimpering and trying not to cry in pain. It didn’t take long before he was silenced, his breath thinning out as he passed out from pain. There was a cut across his eyebrow, a bruise spattered across his cheek. His entire torso was wrecked with cuts and blood and bruises. Gray was amazed he was even able to talk, but Natsu alway did have more stamina than people thought he did. Standing up again, he held Natzu tightly to his chest, his body radiating cold to try and soothe his pain even while he was passed out. With Erza on his left and Lucy on his right, both of them gripping on to some random part of Natsu, they trekked back to the hotel, their hearts heavy but relieved. 

**  
**

Waking up was slow, and came in passing moments that Natsu could barely hold on to. First it was pain, a bone deep ache that had him chasing the slowly fading blackness of painless sleep. Then it was voices, words that he couldn’t make out but tones that he knew better than anything and kept him more calm than he would be if he woke up alone. Scent came next, cold winter, teeming with power and energy and laced with exhaustion. The sharp tang of metal and iron, anger and power. The calming soothe of stardust, lightness and untapped potential. Last came blood, dirt and sweat and unfamiliar smells that made his nose itch. Vision was the last thing he regained, opening his eyes to take in the faces of his team. Gray right above him, one cold hand on the bruise on his stomach and another cradling the back of his aching head. Erza was laying on his right, her leg between his and her head propped up on her fist so she could stare down at him, all cold and calculating and her eyes betraying the warmth she truly felt for him. Lucy’s head was right next to hers, her body pressed against his left side and draped over him like a weight to keep him from moving. Happy was curled up in Gray’s hair, his eyes sleepy but still staring at him, tracing him up and down while keeping his ears trained on him, no doubt listening to his heartbeat and making sure he was okay. The voices slowed to a stop as his eyes fully opened, all of them clamping their mouths shut. 

“You saps,” He croaked out. He could feel Gray’s hand spasm on his stomach, could feel the sharp intake of breath under his back, and thats when he realized that he wasn’t laying on the bed, no, he was laying on top of Gray. His back spread out across Gray’s stomach and chest, his head laid on top of Gray’s hand, right over pecs. He settled easily against his best friend, the one who would always be there for him despite the fuss he put up. He fought with Gray constantly, but when push came to shove, he trusted him more than he’d ever admit. “You were worried about me,” He could hear all three heartbeats simultaneously drop in relief, and he didn’t even realize how fast they were racing until he heard how much they slowed down. 

“You fiery mouth breather!” Gray growled, and the coldness covering the back of his head turned painful for a brief moment before going back to soothing. “You were sleeping for hours! We thought you’d never wake up!” Only Natsu could hear the fear in his voice, the slight tremble that betrayed how he wasnt angry, not really, he was terrified. Natsu took a moment to enjoy the position he was in. His girls on his side, clinging to him despite the hard and angered expressions on their face, and his best friend behind him, his fingers softly curling through his pink hair and spreading painless cold through his head, sucking out the aches and pain. This was his team, his family, the people he would die and kill for. For all that they gave each other grief, they loved each other. They always would. Perhaps some a little more than others, he thought, as he listened to Gray’s heartbeat pick up and felt his fingers curl into his hair, his other hand tracing ever so slowly up and down his stomach. He couldn’t say he minded it, but all the same, he forced himself to slowly sit up. His muscles ached in protest, but nothing seemed to be broken, just the same tired, weak pain that overwhelmed him every time he fought someone that was almost too strong for him to beat, every time he reached down and dragged out the true power that he had as a dragon slayer. He could feel his magic coursing through him, warming his body and filling him with power. At least his magic was back. His headache slowly came back now that Gray wasn’t touching his head anymore, pounding relentlessly and making him dizzy. He fell back against Gray, who caught him easily and slid his hand back through the soft pink strands and placed his hand directly at the base of his skull. Natsu sighed and relaxed into him, both his arms coming up to wrap around Erza and Lucy.

“You two are unusually quiet,” He pointed out, threading his hands through their hair and dragging his fingers lightly down their skull. It was a tradition, almost, to surround their most defeated member and shower them in affection after a fight. Last time it had been Lucy, and now apparently it was his turn. He didn’t mind. He didn’t mind showing weakness around his teammates. It was calming, being able to let his guard down and accept affection that he rarely let himself have. 

“You’re not the only tired one, you insensitive jerk,” Lucy’s voice held no heat, and she snuggled a bit closer to Natsu. 

“We all fought just like you. Shut your mouth for a minute and let us relax,” Erza huffed out, her leg pulling back to kick him softly in the shin. Gray didn’t say anything, just dropped his chin to rest on top of Natsu’s head and brought his hand back to his stomach, tracing lazy circles around his bruises. He did as Erza told, breathing in the scent of his family until he could hear the girls breathing even out and their heart rates drop into sleep. Gray was still awake, judging by the way his hand had yet to still on Natsu’s stomach. 

“Thanks, Gray,” He said quietly, bringing his hand carefully away from Erza’s hair to rest on top of Gray’s hand. Gray didn’t skip a beat, turning his hand around so they could lace fingers and hold each other’s hand tightly. 

“You ever do that again, stupid pyro, and I’ll kill you myself,” He threatened, and there was that fear again. The fear that one day, Natsu would actually get defeated. That one day, he wouldn’t get back up. Silly Gray, he thought to himself. I’ll always come back for you. 

“Aw come on, don’t you have faith in your favorite dragon slayer?” He tilted his head back slightly, so he was looking Gray directly in the eyes. Gray tugged on his hair gently, causing him to hiss in pain. 

“I’m serious, Natsu. You can’t be so reckless all the damn time!” His voice was angry, whispered and quiet but trembling all the same. “Do you know what would happen to the guild if you died? To us?! To me?!” He finally relinquished his hold on Natsu’s hair, pulling his hand away at the same time to scrub angrily at his eyes. Natsu’s heart practically melted in his chest. Gray always knew how to get under his skin in just the right way, to make him angry or to hurt him or make him happy or do anything, really. 

“Okay,” He said quietly, reaching out to grab Gray’s hand back and lace their fingers together. “Alright, I cant promise I’m not going to keep fighting the way I do, because you wouldn’t do it either. But I promise, you stupid ice princess, I’ll always come home. To Erza, to Lucy, to Happy. To you. For you. Always, okay?” He set Gray’s hand back on his stomach, refusing to let go of him. Gray huffed out a laugh, fake and upset, but nodded. 

“Yeah,” He sighed, pushing his hand back to the back of Natsu’s head. “Yeah, Natsu, okay.”

Natsu let his eyes close, let his muscles slowly relax and his breathing slow down. He was tired, still exhausted after his battle and his loss of magic energy. There was nowhere else he’d rather be, though, no place else that would ever make him feel as safe as he was right now. Just before he slipped off into the world of sleep, he heard Gray’s voice, a stupid insult that had the ghost of a smile covering his face, and then the press of cold lips against his forehead. Despite the cold, it warmed him all the way down to the tips of his toes, and he didn’t have time to react before darkness consumed him and he fell asleep surrounded by family.


End file.
